Global 300 list reveals
world’s largest cooperatives
David S. Chesnick &
Carolyn B. Liebrand
Economists
USDA Rural Development, Cooperative Programs
david.chesnick@wdc.usda.gov
carolyn.liebrand@wdc.usda.gov
o demonstrate the importance of cooperatives
in today’s global economy, the
International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)
initiated the Global 300 project—a listing of
the world’s 300 largest cooperatives.
ICA believes that cooperatives are not as visible in the global
economy as are for-profit businesses. It was felt a Global 300
list would help clarify just how vital cooperatives are to the
global economy.
Through the hard work of many cooperators around the
world, the Global 300 was released on Oct. 25. The full list
of cooperatives and mutuals, as some user-owned businesses
are called, can be found at the Web site:
www.global300.coop.
The International Co-operative Alliance is the independent,
nongovernmental association that unites, represents and
serves co-ops worldwide. Founded in 1895, the ICA has 230
member organizations from 92 countries active in all sectors
of the economy. Together, these co-ops represent more than
800 million people worldwide.
$1 trillion in revenue
Listed among the Global 300 are some of the world’s
largest businesses. The Global 300 co-ops had total revenue
of nearly $1 trillion in 2004. If they were a nation, these 300
co-ops would have the 10th largest gross domestic product in
the world, ranking just behind Canada.
The United States is home to more of the Global 300
than any other nation, with 62 (or nearly 20 percent of the
total list). It is followed by France, with 45, then Germany
with 33 and Italy with 28 co-ops on the list. Cooperatives in
these four countries represent more than 50 percent of the
Global 300.
Japan, however, is home to both the No. 1 and 2 ranked
businesses. Topping the Global 300 is Zen-Noh, a national
federation of agriculture and food cooperatives that had revenue
of $53.8 billion in 2004 (see sidebar). Also included in
the Global 300 are: the largest rice miller and marketer in the
world; the largest employer in Switzerland; the largest bank
in France and the largest food processor in India.
The largest U.S. business on the list is Columbus, Ohiobased
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (which is owned by
its policy holders), at No. 4, with $23.7 billion in annual revenue.
The next highest ranked U.S. cooperative is CHS Inc.,
a federated agribusiness cooperative, which had sales of $10.9
billion in 2004. The next-ranked U.S. co-ops were DFA at
22, LoL at 28 and Wakefern Foods, a food retailing co-op
with $7.1 billion in 2004 sales, at No. 30.
Built to last
Since cooperatives are generally organized for the benefit
of members rather than to earn profits for investors, they
tend to take a longer term view with respect to their operations.
That is not to say that cooperatives don’t look at the
bottom line, but rather that they have other objectives that
focus more on the long-term survival of the business.
This is illustrated by how long many of these cooperatives
have existed. Nearly half of the Global 300 cooperatives were
established prior to 1940. Indeed, more than 13 percent were
formed prior to the 1900s. That’s right: more than 1 in 10 of
the Global 300 cooperatives have been around for more than
100 years. Businesses do not turn the century mark unless
they have consistently met a strong need better than their
competition.
Three groups or business sectors make up more than 80
percent of the Global 300. These sectors include agriculture,
financial institutions (including insurance, banking, credit
unions and diversified financial organizations) and
retailing/wholesaling businesses.
More than one-third of the Global 300 cooperatives are
involved in agriculture. Nearly every country represented in
the Global 300 has at least one agriculture cooperative represented
in the list of 300 cooperatives.
Financial institutes represented more than a quarter of the
total Global 300 cooperatives. However, these cooperatives
held the largest amount of assets of any group, controlling
more than 45 percent of the Global 300 assets.
Retailing/wholesaling cooperatives represented 31 percent
of the total Global 300. More than one half of all these cooperatives
are headquartered in three countries: the United
States (19.4 percent), Italy (19.4 percent) and France (11.8 percent).
As mentioned earlier, revenue generated by the Global
300 totaled $965 billion. The graph on page 28 illustrates the
revenues (in U.S. dollars) of the cooperatives by country.
Sixty percent of the total revenues were generated by cooperatives
in four countries: France ($174 billion); Japan ($143.6 billion); United States
($133.1 billion); and Germany ($125.6 billion).
One of the main goals of the Global 300 project was to
demonstrate the important role cooperatives play in the
world market. In that, the project proved to be successful. It
is believed that as this project continues, we will find that
cooperatives are not “old dinosaurs heading for extinction,”
but rather, cooperatives are a vital cog in the global economy.
Global 300 selection criteria
Establishing a definition of a cooperative business—
one that applies across all countries and business sectors—
was somewhat problematic in determining the
Global 300. Many cooperatives also use other corporate
forms, such as subsidiary company structures in which
the co-op may have either total or majority ownership.
At what point are some of these related, supporting
cooperative business structures no longer really cooperatives?
In order to determine what is, or isn’t, a cooperative
or mutual business, a data-validation group was established
with the help of the Cooperative Programs staff of
USDA Rural Development.
The first test for inclusion was that a business must
have a cooperative or mutual character and be recognized
as such by its business sector. International Cooperative
Association (ICA) members, or members of an
ICA-related organization, were placed on the list. Many
mutual insurers are members of International Cooperative
Mutual Insurance Federation, but are not members
of ICA. Regardless, they were eligible for the Global 300.
A business was included if considered a co-op or
mutual by its business sector and according to the available
business structures in its host nation.
For the next step, the data-validation group looked at
the list and determined if inclusions or exclusions
should be made from the list for various reasons. It was
decided not to limit the list to just cooperatives, because
in some countries there is no appropriate legislation for
forming cooperatives. In these nations, some businesses
that would in other countries be incorporated as
cooperatives are instead formed as mutuals.
ZEN-NOH: Japan’s federated ag co-op
ZEN-NOH – the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative
Associations – is Japan's federation of agricultural
co-ops and is the largest co-op organization in the world. Of
the 3 million farm households in Japan, most belong to one
of ZEN-NOH's 1,010 primary-level co-ops.
The co-op had total sales of $56.3 billion in 2003 and
employs about 12,500 people.
In cooperation with Japan’s regional federations and primary-
level co-ops, ZEN-NOH serves its member farmers by
purchasing and distributing materials and equipment for
agricultural production and daily farm needs. ZEN-NOH is
equally involved in the collection, distribution and marketing
of ag products, which it handles through its own channels.
ZEN-NOH works to further develop Japanese agriculture, to
improve farm life and to secure reliable food supplies for the
nation.
Japan relies heavily on overseas sources for raw materials.
To ensure cost-efficient and stable operations, ZENNOH
imports quality materials for Japanese farmers, including
fertilizers, feedstuffs, liquid petroleum gas and oil.
Imports for ZEN-NOH from the United States include feed
ingredients, feed grains, sulphate of potash magnesia,
ammonium phosphate, corrugated-fiber board, soybeans,
seeds and sulphate of potash.
Overseas operations range from importing directly from
producing countries, establishing procurement subsidiaries
and production bases, to chartering ocean-going vessels.
ZEN-NOH was incorporated in March 1972 and includes
1,173 ag co-op members. Of these, 1,010 are primary-level
co-ops, 10 are prefectural economic federations of co-ops,
43 are specialized federations of co-ops and 66 are other
types of ag federations. There are 44 associate members.
To learn more, ZEN-NOH’s 2004 business profile is available
(in English) at: http://www.zennoh.or.jp/ENGLISH/ALACALTE/
2004/businessprofile.html.
